Detachable metallic shoe-sole.



A. N. RING.

DETACHABLE METALLIC SHOE SOLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11. 19M.

Patented May 25, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

THE NORRIS PETERS CO.v PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. D, c

A. N. RING.

DETACHABLE METALLIC SHOE SOLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17, I914.

Patented May 25, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wi/lineooao THE NORRIS PETERS 60., FHOTO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON, D. 1.

SEE

TQE.

ALBERT N. RING, OF BUI-IL, IDAHO, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-FOURTH '10 FRED A. RING AND ONE-FOURTH TO OTTO V7. RING, BOTH OF BUHL, IDAHO.

DETACHABLE METALLIC SHOE-SOLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Application filed February 17, 1914. Serial No. 819,266.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALBERT N. RING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buhl, in the county of Twin Falls and State of Idaho, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Detachable Metallic Shoe-Soles, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates broadly to new and useful improvements in shoe soles, and has particular reference to those which are formed of metal, and are adapted for use in foundries, quarries, mines, and many other field of labor in which the soles of the shoes or boots are subjected to excessive wear.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of a metallic sole or protector plate which is adapted to be detachably secured to the sole of any ordinary shoe so that, when desired, the user of the device may quickly remove the metallic sole.

A furtherobject is to so form the sheet of metal, which constitutes the body portion of the sole, that it will be possessed of such flexibility or yieldability that the sole of the boot or shoe will not be inordinately stiffened to such an extent as would prevent the giving of the sole when the wearer of the device is in the act of walking.

A still further object is to provide a novel form of clamping device which may be employed in quickly attaching the metallic sole or protector of this invention to any ordinary shoe of any size within a reasonable range. I

An object of equal importance with the foregoing is to construct a metallic shoe sole or protector with such regard to proportion, number and arrangement of parts that it may be cheaply manufactured, and will be durable and eflicient in use. The above and additional objects are accomplished by such means as are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the claims which are appended hereto and form a part of this application. I

With reference to the drawings, wherein there has been illustrated the preferred embodiment of this invention as it is reduced to practice, and throughout the several views of which similar reference numerals designate correspondingparts, Figure 1 is a plan view of the bottom of the protector showing it in position on the sole of a shoe; Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective View showing the protector plate in disassembled position, and illustrating further the manner in which the holding means are applied to the protector; Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a modified form of the invention constructed as a heel protector plate; Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view illustrating the heel protecting plate in position on theheel of a shoe; Fig. 6 is a section 011 the line 66 of Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the modified form of protector plate adapted to be used on the sole of a shoe.

Coming now to the description of the drawings, it will be seen that the preferred embodiment of this invention consists broadly, as best illustrated in Fig. 3, in a metallic plate, indicated by the numeral 10, which is applied to the sole 11 of a shoe, and is held in position thereon by means of a number of clamping or retaining devices, individually designated by the numeral 12.

The plate 10 is formed from a blank of relatively light sheet metal which, as best illustrated in Fig. 1, is shaped to conform to the general outline of a conventional shoe sole. In order to impart flexibility to the plate 10, and to also make it possible to attach the plate to the sole of the shoe by means of clamping devices to be hereinafter described, a number of spaced transversely extending parallel slits are cut in the plate, as indicated at 13. These slits are out in the plate 10 so that the alternate slits will extend inwardly from opposite sides. The inner ends of the slits terminate in circular openings 14 which are provided in order to guard against a continuation of the slits when the sole is in use. The slits 13 do not, of course, extend the entire width of the plate 10, but are of such length that their inner terminals are spaced a considerable distance from the adjacent edge of the plate 10. The outer end of each slit 13 is transversely enlarged to produce the slots, indicated at 15. Three V-shaped sections of metal are removed at the forward terminal of the plate 10, as indicated at 16, 17 and 18.

These cut-away portions 16, 17 and 18 are be hereinafter described. The slots 15 also produce a number of similar fingers, indicated at 21, these fingers 21 being, as will be readily seen upon reference to Fig. 3,trans versely staggered and each formed with .a threaded opening, as at 22.

As hereinbefore explalned, a particular form of clamping device is employed in detachably securing the plate member 10 to the sole of the shoe. .One of these clamping or retaining members 12 has been illustrated in detail in Fig. 3, and reference will, there fore, now be had particularly to this figure. The member 12 consists in the preferred-embodiment in a body portion 23, a ,pair of wing members 24 and 25 which are formed on opposite edges thereof and are bent to,- ward each other to lie in parallel spaced relation to the body portion. From one end of the body portion of the member 12 extends a gripping lip 26 which is substantially i!- shaped, the free end portion of which, indicated at 27, is substantially triangular so that it will be equipped with a point 28 which may be quickly inserted between the layers of the sole or, as best shown in Fig. 2, engaged over the edge of the :entire sole. The body portion 23 is provided with an elongated slot 29 which is adapted to receive a threaded stud employed in properly ,securing the member 12 to one of .the fingers.

A clamping device is'applied to each one of the fingers 21 which are formed'on .the sides of the plate, as well as to the terminal fingers 19 and 20. In applying these clamping members 12, the body portion is arranged to bear against the lower face of thefinger, while the wings 24 and 25 are inserted between the sole of the shoe and the finger. After the plate'has been properly positioned on the shoe sole, and the wing members and body portions of the'members V 12 have been properly engaged "with the various fingers, the V-shaped terminals 27 of the members 26 are inserted between the layers of the sole or engaged over the edge thereof, in the manner shown in Fig. 2. A threaded stud 30 having a relatively wide head 30, which may be hexagonal, octagonal, .orof any other desired shape, is inserted through the opening 29 of the body mem ber 23 andthreaded into the opening 22 of the finger. It will be apparent that when the stud is threaded home, the body of the clamping device will be firmly held against the finger. It is obvious that the provision of the slots 29 in the body portions 23 of the clamping devices makes it possible for the operator to apply theplate 10 to shoe soles of various sizes within a reasonable range.

In the preferred form of the invention the plate 10 is constructed of relatively heavy metal, but it will be obvious'that the flexibility of the shoe sole will not be impaired, since the transversely extending slits in formation and construction to the preferred member 10 exceptthat it is not pro-- vided with the transverse slits 13 or any equivalent thereof, and the further fact that the fingers 32 are preferably arranged in transverse alinement. This modifiedform of'the plate is made from lighter .and more flexible metal than the plate 10, and it has been found that under such conditions itis 7 not necessary to provide. the slits 13 for imparting to the plate the necessary flexibility. The fingers 32 are, of course, provided with threaded openings, indicated at'33, the fastening devices 12 being employed in attaching the plate 31 to the sole of a shoe or boot in. the same manner as ascribed to the attachment of the plate 10 to a shoe or boot.

The principles on whichthis metallic 'so'le plate or protector is constructed may be also embodied in the construction of a heel protector or plate. been shown in Figs. l, .5 and 6,. Itwill be seen upon referenceto these figures that the heel plate 34 is formed from a sheet of metal of necessary size, the edges of whichare shaped 'to conform to the ordinary shoe heel.

The forward edge of the heel plate is pro vided with a number of parallel rearwardly extending openings 35 which produce the ployed in securing the forward portion of the heel plate to the shoe heel. The central portion of the heel plate 34 is stamped or pressed so that the forward edge portion and the rear edge portion of the plate, indicated at 38 and -39 in Fig. 6, will lie in a common plane below the plane of the central portion, indicated at 40. The rearedge portion 39, which will hereinafter for the purpose of clarity in the description be referred to as a substantially semi-circular ofiset flange, is formed with a number of threaded bores 41 which receive the studs 42, similar to the members 30 of the preferred form of the invention. On the rear edge of the flange 39 are formed a pair ofgrippinglips 413 and 44 which are substantially identical to the members 26 shown in the embodiment and theclamping or fastening'members 12 are then 'applied'to the members .36 in the same manner as previously ascribed to the application of the members 12 to the fingers 21.

The actual construction and arrangement of the several parts of the invention being thus disclosed, it now remains to explain some of the more important advantages which are believed to result from the novel form of construction employed. One of the chief advantages believed to exist is that the sole may be cheaply manufactured, being of simple design, and will materially prolong the life of a shoe or boot sole without appreciably decreasing the flexibility thereof. A further advantage is seen to reside in the fact that the protecting plates or sole plates of both the preferred and modified forms may be quickly attached to or removed from shoe soles of, all sizes within a reasonable range. It will also be noted that the studs 30 serve, not only to properly connect the metallic plates and the clamping or fastening devices, but also serve as hob nails for preventing the slipping of the metal plate as when the wearer of the shoe is walking over rocks or the like.

In reduction to practice, it has been found that the form of this invention illustrated in the drawings, and referred to in the above description as the preferred embodiment is the most efiicient and practical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of this invention will necessarily vary, it is desirable to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is 1. A shoe protecting device including a metallic plate having a plurality of transversely extending slits, the slits being enlarged at their outer terminals to produce finger members, and clamping means adapted to embrace the finger members and to be engaged with the shoe for holding the plate thereon.

2. A shoe sole protector including a flexible metallic body plate having a plurality of longitudinally spaced transversely extending slits which are enlarged at their terminals to produce finger members, clamping devices embracing the fingers, and means for connecting the clamping devices to the fingers, said clamping devices being mounted for longitudinal adjustment with respect to the fingers and for lateral adjustment with respect to the body plate, said clamping devices being engageable with the shoe for detachably securing the plate thereto.

3. A shoe sole protector including a flexible metallic body plate, laterally extending fingers formed on the edge of the body plate, and a plurality of clamping devices embrac ing the fingers and engageable with the sole of the shoe for holding the plate in position thereon, each of said clamping devices including a body member engaging against the outer face of the finger, Wing members embracing the edges of the fingers and engaging against the upper face thereof, and hooks extending from the body member and embracing the edge of the shoe sole.

4. A shoe sole protector including a flexible metallic body plate, laterally extending fingers formed on the edge of the body plate, and a plurality of clamping devices embracing the fingers and engageable with the sole of the shoe for holding the plate in position thereon, each of said clamping devices including a body member having an elongated slot engaging against the outer face of the finger, wing members embracing the edges of the fingers and engaging against the upper face thereof, hooks extending from the body member and embracing the edge of the shoe sole, and a stud having a threaded shank insertible through the slot of the clamping device and adapted to be threaded into the finger whereby the clamping device may be secured in adjusted position on the finger.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT N. RING. [L.S.]

Witnesses:

Russ W. ALLRED, O. G. CHAMBERLAIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

' Washington, D. C. 

